Business news in brief

REGION

Frontier: Verizon deal should benefit consumers

CLEVELAND (AP) — Ohio’s state government consumer advocate wants to make sure customers aren’t hurt if Frontier Telephone buys Verizon landline assets in Ohio as part of a 14-state deal.

Ohio Consumers’ Counsel Janine Migden-Ostrander has asked the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to make sure that Frontier can maintain and improve residential customer service.

Frontier says the Verizon deal should benefit consumers. Senior vice president Steve Crosby says the company wants to bring broadband Internet to at least 92 percent of its 435,000 new customers in 77 counties across Ohio.

About 60 percent of Verizon customers in Ohio now have broadband access through the company. Public hearings on the Frontier deal will be held in three Ohio cities next month.

Targeting mortgage fraud

CLEVELAND (AP) — Federal and state authorities in Ohio are making a major push targeting home mortgage fraud in the Cleveland area.

An interagency task force announced criminal charges Wednesday against 45 individuals suspected of fraud involving 453 homes purchased for $50 million in Cleveland and its Cuyahoga County suburbs. A total of 358 homes wound up in foreclosure.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason says the alleged scheme involved inflating the value of homes, reselling them to unqualified buyers and falsifying mortgage applications.

The task force includes the FBI and state, county and local police agencies in the Cleveland area, which was an epicenter of the nation’s foreclosure crisis.

NATION

Chrysler sues Daimler

NEW YORK (AP) — Chrysler Group has sued Daimler, saying the German automaker failed to uphold contracts for the delivery of crucial vehicle parts for its 2010 vehicles.

The Auburn Hills, Mich.-based company says the parts are critical for the production of several key 2010 model-year vehicles. Chrysler argues that it may have to shut down production of the vehicles without them.

Chrysler filed the lawsuit in bankruptcy court in New York and is seeking unspecified damages from Daimler, which owned Chrysler until 2007.

Chrysler emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June after it was bought by Italy’s Fiat Group SpA. But a large portion of its old liabilities is continuing to liquidate under court supervision.